NORRISTOWN ­— A project on the books for more than a decade cleared a big hurdle Thursday morning when the Montgomery County Commissioners approved a portion of the funding for the Lafayette Street Extension Project.

The project involves extending Lafayette Street in Norristown to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Upon completion, it is expected to alleviate traffic headaches along Main Street and Ridge Pike east.

The commissioners approved a resolution Thursday to update a PennDOT reimbursement agreement for the project.

“This is a major milestone day for the Lafayette Street project,” said Leo Bagley, assistant director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC). “We’ve been at this for, probably, a dozen years, and we’re getting our final legal work in place for our first-time draft.”

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The MCPC hopes to advertise the first contract in April, award the lowest bidder in June and begin construction in August, Bagley said.

“We are in terrific shape,” he told the commissioners.

Demolition began in May with the takedown of a home along Diamond Avenue.

The $60 million project will extend Lafayette Street into Plymouth Township, providing motorists for an alternative to Main Street. It is expected to help revitalize the downtown Norristown area.

The Lafayette Street project and the start of the Markley Street improvement — scheduled for Monday — together represent more than $100 million investment in Norristown, commissioners Vice Chairwoman Leslie Richards said.

“This will create new redevelopment opportunities along Lafayette Street, as well as really change the image of Norristown,” she said. “It’s going to be very exciting, to allow people to come in, come through and go around Norristown very easily. It will be great for businesses here.”

The first cars should be on the roadway by late 2016.

In other business, the board of commissioners also approved part of a financing package for a new affordable-housing project downtown. As part of its efforts to promote economic development, the commissioners reserved $500,000 for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The project, spearheaded by Pennrose Properties LLC, now goes to the state for approval.

Plans call for a four-story residential rental housing development at the northwest corner of East Airy and DeKalb streets, which is now the site of a county-owned parking lot.

The Pennrose project will contain for 96 units, 60 of which will be marketed toward low-income tenants. Special units would also be reserved for the physically, hearing and visually disabled, and there would be an area designated for retail development.

Currently, only about half the parking lot is used by county employees and neighboring businesses. It generates about $42,000 for the county annually. If the housing project is approved, the developer would enter into a revenue-sharing agreement with the county and pay back the fair-market value of the parcel over a period of years.

Norristown, as a municipality, has also pledged financial support for the Pennrose project. In a letter to the county commissioners, Norristown Council President Gary Simpson called it “Norristown’s number one economic development priority.”

“Council believes that revitalization in our community will start with the downtown,” Simpson wrote. “To that end, we believe this project is an essential catalyst and will build on the key investments both we and the county have already made together.”

Commissioners Chairman Josh Shapiro said Thursday’s approval of the resolution demonstrated the commitment the board has to the county seat.

“I think what you’ve seen by the actions of this board are, for the last year, we’re seeing investment in affordable housing and related economic development efforts, and investment in infrastructure, and I think that is an important statement about this board’s commitment to Norristown,” he said.